cctv and the law

mcjordi

any cctv experts in here?

my friend has asked me about this but im not 100% sure on the law regarding home cctv

his neighbour has 2 cameras at the front of his property which record sound and are the movable cameras which can be controlled via a control pad thingy.
they record the entire street
im sure this it not legal but again im not 100% certain..

can he be forced to take them down?

[Deleted User]

It's not illegal to take photos or videos of public areas, or from your own private area (e.g. your house) unless there's a matter of national security involved.

"There are no legal restrictions on photography in a public place and no presumption of privacy for individuals in a public place

Also, home security systems, for domestic use, are exempt from the data protection act

mcjordi

i know its no illeagal to film in public. He is more concerned about the recording of sound...

tronator

mcjordi wrote: »

i know its no illeagal to film in public. He is more concerned about the recording of sound...

I'm not an expert, but why would recording sound in a public area more illegal than recording video?

shaun_from_Africa

Recording sounds heard in public is exactly the same as recording telephone conversations.
Simply making the recordings isn't in any way illegal and you do not have to inform people that the recordings are taking place.
The problems could start depending on what is done with the recordings.

Public recordings are a fact of life nowadays as just about everyone you see recording video on their mobile phones will also be picking up audio from all around them.

lammy82

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Recording sounds heard in public is exactly the same as recording telephone conversations.
Simply making the recordings isn't in any way illegal and you do not have to inform people that the recordings are taking place.
The problems could start depending on what is done with the recordings.

Public recordings are a fact of life nowadays as just about everyone you see recording video on their mobile phones will also be picking up audio from all around them.

I think the telephone analogy may be incorrect - there's a law against covertly recording other people's phone conversations (aka wiretapping). You can record your own conversations, though.

shaun_from_Africa

I did mean that there is nothing to stop you recording your own telephone calls and not that you can record conversations which you are not part of which is as you say, illegal.

tronator

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

I did mean that there is nothing to stop you recording your own telephone calls and not that you can record conversations which you are not part of which is as you say, illegal.

I think you're still wrong. Of course you can record your own voice, but to record the whole conversation you need to inform the other party and ask for permission. That's why you always hear these "... may record for training purposes..." when you call a call center.

Edit: Ok, I was wrong. You can record for your own use, but need the consent of the other party if you want to make it available to a third party.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/consumer/advice/faqs/prvfaq3.htm

securityguy

tronator wrote: »

I think you're still wrong. Of course you can record your own voice, but to record the whole conversation you need to inform the other party and ask for permission.

Wrong.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/consumer/advice/faqs/prvfaq3.htm